


Youth

by sylvieb94 (rhettmclovely)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: AU, First Kiss, Kinda?, M/M, Teen Angst, idek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-18 01:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7294252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhettmclovely/pseuds/sylvieb94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett’s sixteen and Link’s fifteen and they don’t hold hands anymore</p>
            </blockquote>





	Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! This is my very first fic and I'm not sure how I feel about it, I might end up just coming back and deleting it lmao.  
> Also, I'm not a native speaker, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.  
> I hope you enjoy it, none the less!

The first time it happens it’s innocent. They’ve been holding hands since they met. Link’s a clumsy kid and Rhett figured it would be better to be safe than sorry: he might as well hold his hand and make sure he doesn’t keep falling around the playground, on the street, at church. It’s a sunny day and they’re playing in Link’s tree house. Rhett wishes they were playing hide and seek with the other kids but he knows Link doesn’t like to stay hidden for long, so he never brings it up anymore. They’re playing pretend and today the tree house is a spaceship. They’re sitting side by side, and Link made Rhett the pilot even though it’s his tree house and his spaceship. But he doesn’t care, he likes it better when Rhett makes all the difficult decisions, anyways. That means he just has to follow his lead.

When you’ve been holding hands for so long, a kiss doesn’t feel like anything weird. Rhett looks at Link as they get ready to land on the moon and Link looks back at him, smiling. Rhett presses his lips against Link’s and he snorts and starts giggling. It’s innocent and it doesn’t feel weird, but something tells Rhett it’s not supposed to happen. So he doesn’t do it again. Or, at the very least, he doesn’t initiate it. He can’t say no to his best friend, after all. It happens a couple more times; Link doesn’t seem to be too concerned with kissing. He’s perfectly happy holding his hand. Somewhere along the way, Rhett almost forgets it happened. As he grows older, he becomes more concerned with all the pretty girls around him, and he doesn’t give the incident any more thought.

A few years go by, until it happens again. Rhett’s sixteen and Link’s fifteen and they don’t hold hands anymore. They’re wrestling on the floor and, for the first time, Link manages to pin Rhett down. He smiles his lopsided smile, and his blue eyes are shinning and Rhett can’t help himself. The kiss is chaste, their lips barely touching, but he feels like his whole body has been set on fire. Link breaks the kiss immediately and pulls away, blushing.

“Rhett…”  
“I’m sorry… I don’t know why I…” he says, stuttering.  
“It’s okay.” Link interrupts him. Before he knows it, Rhett has gotten up and walked towards the window. He’s facing the street, his back turned to his best friend, his cheeks red and burning.  
“It’s not, though.” He can feel the tears dancing in his eyes. He can’t cry now. The only thing that could make this whole thing any worse is him starting to cry. “I just…”

Before he can say anything, Link is hugging him from behind. He feels Rhett’s body tense up and he wonders if he did something wrong, if he should let go, but before he can decide, he hears Rhett sighs and he feels him relax into the embrace. A tear rolls down Rhett’s face, and he tries his best to stay quiet, not wanting Link to notice. But he does. He can read him like a book. At this point, he doubts Rhett could keep anything from him. He tightens the embrace and Rhett’s hands hover over Link’s, which wrapped tightly around his waist, but he can’t bring himself to touch him. He doesn’t know how long they’ve been standing there like that. It’s awkward and it isn’t. It feels like it’s been a million years and yet not long enough. Link finally lets him go.

“Wanna get some pudding, bo?” Link asks and Rhett can feel his silly smile, even though he can’t see his face.  
“Sure, bo.” He replies, finally facing him.  
For Link, there’s nothing pudding can’t fix.


End file.
